I am a Military Brat, and am glad of it, had a lot of interesting experiences. My father was a 30 Year Navy Vet, interred at Arlington National Cemetery) I served in the US Navy 75-79, Aviation Machinist Mate 2nd Class, USS JFK, USS EISENHOWER, USS LEXINGTON, USS FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. I am grateful I had the chance to serve. I learned many lessons that serve me well today.

One of the things that I find troubling is the types of people that are held up by many as "heroes". I do agree that it is okay for people to differ on their opinions of what constitutes a "hero", but what I find disturbing is that for many, a hero is an athlete, a rock star, a movie actor, a politician, or even in some cases, a simple victim.

In those categories, there are some who I appreciate and admire for their skills in what they do. But to me, these examples above are not "heroes".

The examples below are my idea of heroes.

My Father, The Commander. A great man, in my eyes. I wish I could just talk with him again. For a few minutes. He led by example. He was one of the most decent, generous and fair people I have ever known, and...he was MY dad.

My Mom. She raised the six of us while my dad was at sea. She taught me about things in life my dad would never have been able to do.

Here they are together.

Admiral Stockdale. A Man. A Patriot. A Hero. An Intellectual.

Thomas Sowell is a remarkable man. I am working my way through his books and I hope to meet him in person someday.

Phyllis Schlafly was a brilliant woman, may she rest in peace. She is another person I would loved to have met.Her life story is a compelling one, and it is no wonder to me that she was REVILED by the liberal left. It is difficult for any thinking person to take feminism seriously when the legacy of Phyllis Schlafly is pitted against the likes of a vacuous boob like Gloria Steinhem.

Joseph McCarthy. One of the most unfairly maligned people in this history of this country. This man sacrificed his reputation, opening himself to be savaged by the left, because he knew there was a threat to our country. He sacrificed himself to make communism disreputable to Americans. And yes, our government was riddled with communists. I chose this picture of him, because it humanizes him as a young man on an island out in the Pacific during WWII. He has been vilified in the most brutal way by the Left, who showed the most unflattering pictures of him they could produce, a practice we were to see repeated with the George W. Bush, amongst others. What this picture shows is closer to his true nature.

Whittaker Chambers. This man was one of the bravest and most reluctant Cold Warriors. He left a life of relative obscurity (something he yearned for) to go to war against Communism. His book, "Witness", had a deep, profound and lasting effect on me. I read it several years back, and recently listened to the audiobook version. What struck me was the complete difference in perception on my part when I listened to it. When I read it, it was a political book. When I listenedto it, I realized it was a religious book. It was the story of a man's search to find God. This letter he wrote as a foreword to his book was one of the most touching and influential things I have ever read. I had originally copied the letter below, but due to copyright restrictions,have been required to remove it. I advise you to read it for yourself in its entirety.